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Social learning about dangerous people by wild jackdaws.
Victoria E Lee1, Noémie Régli2, Guillam E McIvor1
1College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Penryn Campus, Penryn, Cornwall TR10 9FE, UK.
Royal Society Open Science
|October 11, 2019
Summary
Wild jackdaws learn to recognize dangerous people by observing conspecifics. Social learning helps these birds assess human-introduced risks, improving survival in human-dominated environments.
Area of Science:
- Animal behavior
- Ecology
- Cognitive ethology
Background:
- Animals living near humans face both opportunities and threats.
- Prior research indicates some species can discern individual people and assess risk.
- Social learning about human-related dangers is crucial in human-dominated habitats, yet experimental data is scarce.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if wild jackdaws utilize social learning to identify dangerous humans.
- To determine if alarm calls from conspecifics influence jackdaw fear responses towards unfamiliar people.
Main Methods:
- A within-subjects experimental design was employed.
- Wild jackdaws were exposed to an unfamiliar person near their nest, accompanied by conspecific alarm calls.
- A control group did not receive alarm calls.
Main Results:
- Jackdaws exposed to alarm calls exhibited a significantly heightened fear response during subsequent encounters with the person.
- These subjects showed reduced latency in returning to their nest after the encounter.
- Control subjects did not display the same level of fear response.
Conclusions:
- Wild jackdaws effectively use social learning to recognize and assess the risk posed by individual humans.
- Conspecific alarm calls serve as a vital social cue for learning about potential threats.
- This social learning mechanism aids jackdaws in navigating risks in human-altered environments.
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